A fatal traffic accident occurred today (Wednesday) in the La Chorrera area of Panama, when a shuttle minibus carrying Israeli tourists was involved in a serious collision with a local bus.
According to initial reports received by ZAKA’s international emergency center, the force of the crash killed an Israeli woman and injured several other Israelis to varying degrees, some of them seriously.
Local medical teams who arrived at the scene evacuated the injured to nearby hospitals, while representatives from ZAKA Panama and Israel’s Foreign Ministry began coordinating with local authorities regarding treatment of the victims and arrangements to return the deceased woman’s body to Israel.
Baruch Nidam, head of ZAKA’s international division, said the organization is also working to fly the injured back to Israel for further medical treatment and to ensure the dignity of the deceased at the scene.
Yosef Dvir, commander of ZAKA Panama who arrived at the crash site, said: “Immediately upon receiving the report, I arrived at the scene together with a ZAKA team, and we are working with all the relevant authorities to release the deceased as quickly as possible while ensuring the dignity of the dead and collecting the findings."